Summer is FINALLY here!

School is out and so is the sun!!! The last day of work/school happened to be the first sunny, warm day in Portland. The sun has stayed out for us to enjoy and it is wonderful. During the first week off we have done so many things already including:
1. Work in the yard
2. Go to a swim party to celebrate the start of summer
3. Have a sleepover with our buddy Hunter
4. Play basketball
5. See Kung Fu Panda (finally, for Luke's birthday party)
6. Play our first round of summer league Flag Football. Luke loves having his own team to play on. Ryan scored his first
touchdown in the first game.
7. Gone fishing and hiking in the Makenzie River forest area while staying at Belknap Springs. Since we had no cell service for
almost 3 days and my family didn't remember where we were...they were sure something had happened to us!! I think they
watch too much Dateline NBC.
8. Riding bikes and eating s'mores at Champoeg Park for our friend Natalie's birthday camping dinner. What a blast!
9. We just welcomed baby BOY Swanson in to the family. Congrats Jon and Jill! He will be the highlight of my next post!

A Special Teacher

Luke finished preschool this year which means that we had to say goodbye to our very special teacher, Mrs. Fletchner. Ryan and Luke both had her and loved her. She is retiring after 30+ years of teaching preschool so we feel blessed that she waited to end her career until we were done! Luke loves school and part of that is because of Mrs. Fletchner!

Ali has been in both preschool classes with Luke. She is his special friend and will be for years to come!

Cousin Julie's ceremony

The main reason that we headed to Boise this past weekend was to be at my cousin Julie's recommitment ceremony. She and her husband Jerry were married last May. They wanted to share their marriage with their families so decided to have this ceremony. It could not have been more beautiful outside...especially for a sun deprived person like me. I loved sitting in the sun, taking it all in.

The pictures that you see are of the ceremony. It was located at the Boise Train Depot in the garden area. It was very simple with cake following. Jerry's daughter, Tricia, and son, Joseph, were at the ceremony. They are the ones holding Amanda in the first picture. Amanda is one month old and a very pretty baby. She is very mellow, hardly stirring the entire time she was passed around. We had to fight Grandpa Duane for the opportunity to hold Amanda but I sure can see why!

Boise Visit

There's nothing like a quick drive to Boise for the weekend. Wow! It was great to see Grandma and Grandpa Greene again. Grandma looks so much better than the last time I saw her in March. The twinkle is back in her eyes. Luke gave her and Grandpa lots of hugs and made them drawings. Seeing Grandma healthier and getting to meet Amanda was worth the long drive!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Unbelievably, Ryan is already 7 years old! Where does the time go?

Ryan wanted to celebrate his party at Chuck E. Cheese's with some of his good buddies. So on Sunday he had a great time playing games, eating pizza, climbing the gym with his friends and dancing with Chuck E. and the animated posse. Matt and I thought we were trapped in some sort of parent nightmare in the middle of 10 boys running every direction :-) It was all worth it when after 2 hours they all left with big smiles on their faces. Ryan said he had "The BEST time ever." That is what it's all about.

Now Luke loved everything but the run in with the wandering giant Chuck E. Mouse. He is my kid who is afraid of nothing, but he was in tears and wanted to go sit in the car until CHUCK left. If Chuck E. moved one direction, Luke went the other. His wide eyes were glued to the mouse until he left. We will definitely not be doing a repeat for his birthday party.

Today I was able to visit Ryan's classroom as a part of celebrating his birthday. I brought pictures of Ryan as a baby to share with his class. He then shared a birthday snack with the group. His teacher, Ms. Olson, then had each classmate make Ryan a picture for his special day after they sang to him. I stayed for lunch and became a witness to the social interaction between eight 7 year old boys. It was quite amusing to hear how they decide who is "IT" during the upcoming tag game at recess. We ended the day at Grandma and Boppa's house for dinner and more presents. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN...WE LOVE YOU!!

Check out the chicks!

My 4th grade class has been taking care of chick eggs for the last 24 days. The hard work paid off and on Thursday we had 8 chicks hatch. It was very exciting to watch. They are very cute. It is hard to not hold them all of the time. I brought them home for the weekend. Ryan and Luke are enjoying them...not so sure the chicks are enjoying Ryan and Luke. Luke tried to shoot one through the basketball hoop. Let's just say he is on supervised visitation only. The chicks will head out to their new farm home on Tuesday evening. Enjoy the pictures. The little guy by himself is named "Junior." He had the smallest egg and is by far the smallest chick. He is the only one we can tell apart. The rest all look pretty much the same.

We wish you were here, Avery and Andrew, to see the chicks. But we will see you in just about 2 months!!!

Spring has arrived!

Today was an amazing day in Portland. It was around 80 degrees and beautiful!!! Oh, how the sun does wonders for a soul. I got more accomplished in one day than I have in some of the past weeks! We got up bright and early for Ryan's first baseball game. His team, "The Mariners", looked pretty good on their first outing. Ryan was excited to get out there. He hit the ball three different times. This year the coach pitches to each kid 5 times. If they don't hit it, then the kid gets to hit the ball off of the tee. Ryan was pretty excited he didn' have to use a tee at all today. I have to say, he looks pretty cute in all of his gear. Luke watched from the sidelines. He has been practicing with the Mariners so was a bit confused as to why he was not getting to play in the game. He finally found someone to throw the ball with for the duration of the game....Boppa.

Other updates from the week:

> Ryan had his music program on Wednesday. It was quite a show. The kindergarten and first graders sang several spring themed songs, including Ryan's favorite...Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Ryan had been practicing for the past few weeks at home so I knew all of the songs, too. Lately, he has even taken to singing the songs in the shower. I have to say the most entertaining part of the evening was when the classes came filing in, I swear there was a stampede of parents with cameras to the front. I think no less than 75-100 parents swarmed the front before the program had even started. It was something to see.

>My Grandma Greene has made a comeback. When I wrote my last blog, i was pretty sure that she wouldn't be with us more than 2-3 days longer. Well, it has been 2 weeks since I was there to see her and she is getting stronger every day. She is living at home with regular hospice visits. She is happy to be at home and recovering with Grandpa in her sights. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go to Boise to see her and hug her. She is one special lady and I am thankful that I had the chance to tell her so! Ryan and Luke are looking forward to seeing her in May.

Until next time...Love to all-